Posts Tagged ‘pseudo-existential crisis’

When we last encounteredMouseCraft I was immediately enamoured with its puzzle platforming, Lemmings vs. Tetris design. Well, that and the giant cat who takes center stage as main character and block-dropping guide for the titular mice as they make their way past various traps. He’s a mad, grinning beast, omnipresent in the background of every level like some incredibly literal metaphor for God. Deep, meaningful stuff from the comedy game about a steampunk cat professor called Schrödinger; we’re in full RPS-mode this morning.

This isn’t a rant for or against Team Fortress 2 Achievement servers. It’s a recounting of the bizarre/hilarious/terrifying experience I had on one of them – yes, my personal reactions to what I encountered do inevitably slip in, but mostly it’s a portrait of this unique facet of gaming subculture. Whether you agree or disagree with their existence, these beat-the-system servers are fascinating enough to be worth talking about.

Having been away from the TF2 scene for a few months until very recently, I wasn’t previously aware of Achievement Servers. I heard about their existence come the release of the Pyro update, and the idea that there were legions of TF2 players grinding away like Lineage players on special maps for impatient unlock-hungerers was so curious that I had to see it for myself. As the sampling of chat-channel quotes above might imply, I wish I hadn’t.Read the rest of this entry »